The presence of pathogens in industrial cooling towers has been identified as one of the causes of legionellosis, but the tangible hazard has been unrecognized. The major function of a cooling tower in the industries is to transfer heat into the environment through evaporation which leads to an unusual increment in the conductivity of water. Conductivity indicates dissolved solids of water which further facilitate the occurrence of corrosion within the cooling tower systems that may hamper the overall functioning of the cooling tower. The lab-scale study was conducted to developed and demonstrated an efficient membrane to control potential pathogen (Legionella sp.) associated with cooling tower water. In the present study, cooling tower water from various locations was collected and examined for physicochemical parameters (pH, conductivity, salinity, sulfate, and APS reductase) and microbial load. The phylogenetic analysis of the potential sample (with a maximum load of bacterial counts, P1) confirms the presence of Legionella sp., Pseudomonas sp., and Flavobacterium sp. In the present investigation, a unique membrane was developed to regulate the growth of pathogenic contaminants along with sulfate, alkalinity in the cooling tower water. The membrane was capable of reducing conductivity from 6.03 to 4.5 mS/cm and total microbial load reduced by 40% by passing through the liquid. The developed membrane was characterized through FTIR that indicated the presence of carbonyl, C–CH3 and C–O–C group whereas, thermal properties of the membrane was determined through TGA. Thus the developed membrane may be used for environmental monitoring and maintenance, including anti-scale treatment, and physical, chemical, and microbiological control, ensure the good performance of reducing the Legionella sp. risk for public health in cooling tower stations.

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用于控制与冷却塔相关的潜在病原体（军团菌）的膜的开发和示范

工业冷却塔中病原体的存在已被确定为军团菌病的原因之一，但尚未认识到有形危害。工业中冷却塔的主要功能是通过蒸发将热量传递到环境中，从而导致水的电导率异常增加。电导率表示溶解的水固体，这进一步促进了冷却塔系统内腐蚀的发生，这可能会妨碍冷却塔的整体功能。实验室规模的研究旨在开发和展示一种有效的膜来控制与冷却塔水相关的潜在病原体（军团菌）。在本研究中，收集了来自不同位置的冷却塔水并检查了理化参数（pH、电导率、盐度、硫酸盐和 APS 还原酶）和微生物负荷。潜在样本的系统发育分析（细菌数量最大，P1）证实存在军团菌、假单胞菌和黄杆菌。在目前的调查中，开发了一种独特的膜来调节病原污染物的生长以及冷却塔水中的硫酸盐和碱度。该膜能够将电导率从 6.03 mS/cm 降低到 4.5 mS/cm，并且通过液体使总微生物负荷减少 40%。开发的膜通过 FTIR 表征，表明存在羰基、C-CH3 和 C-O-C 基团，而膜的热性能通过 TGA 确定。因此，开发的膜可用于环境监测和维护，包括防垢处理、物理、化学和微生物控制，确保减少军团菌的良好性能。冷却塔站的公众健康风险。